The South Tura Assembly seat was vacated by Conrad Sangma’s sister Agatha Sangma for him. Agatha Sangma is likely to contest next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Conrad Sangma, the NPP chief, is up against Charlotte W Momin of the Congress and Independent candidates John Leslee K Sangma, who is a former MLA, and Chris Kabul A Sangma. But, the chief minister seems to be comfortably placed, considering the fact that the constituency is his family stronghold.

The bypoll for this seat assumes significance as the two regional allies of the NPP—the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the People’s Democratic Front (PDF) -- have fielded candidates against Danggo, triggering the speculation that whether things are fine within the ruling coalition.

Except for the fact that a victory would fulfil the chief minister’s constitutional requirement of becoming a member of the Assembly to continue on his chair, the outcome of the two seats would not have any impact on the stability of the government.

In the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly, the Conrad Sangma government enjoys the support of 34 MLAs -- 19 of the NPP, six of the UDP, four of the PDF, two each of the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the BJP and an Independent.

But the results of the bypolls will be an important indicator as to which way the wind is blowing in the north-eastern state, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.

Meghalaya has two Lok Sabha seats in Shillong and Tura. While the Ranikor Assembly segment falls under the Shillong Parliamentary constituency, the South Tura seat is part of the Tura Lok Sabha constituency.

The Congress’s Vincent Pala is the MP from Shillong presently, while Tura was won by Conrad Sangma in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.